From the Inside
by ColorfulLokitty
Summary: Title/summary may change. Loki is curious about Asgard so what does he do? He lies to his father, King Laufey, and goes there of course. However, he quickly meets Prince Thor, whom shows him around Asgard. Unfortunately, it isn't long before trouble starts brewing for the two princes and their realms as old threats rise and new ones appear. M for safety. Eventual Thorki. Jotun AU.
1. Chapter 1

**First Thorki writing, or rather, will be Thorki writing. I recently fell back into the ship and I've fallen hard. 3**

**Anyways, this is an AU and will stretch through Thor on to Avengers. Things will obviously be different and this is rated M for safety at the moment though that will likely change later due to possible torture/sex. Dunno right now.**

**Also, the first update will likely be kind of long-ish away (a little over one week or so) so that I can have time to write a few chapters. I'll likely be updating weekly however.**

**Well, I think that is all... Oh yes, chapters will vary in size depending on inspiration and such but they will always be rather normal and this one is about average length for me.**

**I do not own any of these characters; they are Marvel's obviously. **

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The torchlight-it wasn't real fire, of course, but rather flames formed by seidr that produced light but not heat-danced across the shining ice walls of the palace. Loki's eyes flickered across the various patterns made by the flames, as he walked through the halls. It was relatively silent except for his footfalls and the light sound of his breathing. As he rounded one of the curves in the walls, he was met by the large silver doors that led into the throne-room. The large armoured guards stood in front of the doors bowed their heads forward before stepping to the sides. Loki tilted his head slightly in return as the doors swung open; his gaze rose to the intricate gold and silver throne. It was one of the few things made of gold in Jotunheim simply because the gold clashed with the natural beauty of the realm while the silver flowed magnificently.

Laufey's eyes flicked up to Loki and he gave a small smile, the usual close-lipped one far different from the animalistic snarl that appeared when he was angry. "My son, what do you need?"

Loki smiled in response, giving a slight nod. "I was actually wondering if I could spend some time on Midgard," he said evenly. He had barely kept himself from pausing with 'uh' or 'uhm' but he remembered that he had already been reprimanded on that habit before.

His father furrowed a brow slightly, walking down the few steps to stand a bit back from Loki. It was one of the small things Loki had always appreciated of him; that he stood back further so he wouldn't have to tilt his head up to look at him due to Loki's shorter height. He wasn't the smallest of Jotnar but he was by far one of the most powerful. If any of the 'runts' showed promising magical abilities, they were kept and often treasured among the population as magic was rare for the Jotnar. And he just happened to be one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful, sorcerer on Jotunheim. "Why do you wish to go to Midgard, Loki?"

"Well not for long," he replied quickly. "Just for a while. I've been rather...stressed and I just need a moment to breathe really and I think Midgard would be the best choice for such a time."

Laufey watched him for a long moment before saying, "You realize that there will likely be a large amount of things for you to take care of as soon as you return, yes?"

Loki gave a slight nod. "Yes, I know Father but I'll be ready to take care of it then after having a while to rest," he countered.

There was a pause again which stretched for just long enough for Loki to believe he would be refused when Laufey sighed. "Okay but you are to stay no longer than three weeks though unless you hear otherwise."

His eyes brows shot up as he heard Laufey's response but nodded again after a moment. "Of course," he replied shortly before turning to go back to his room.

Laufey's voice caused him to pause though. "Do you think I am to allow you to go without a guard or some form of protection, Loki?"

Loki rolled his eyes teasingly. "You know as well as I that I can take care of myself."

"I know that your magic is exceptional Loki but the last-"

"Yes, I know about last time, Father, but imagine how out of place any of the guards would look on Midgard. It would only draw unneeded attention to me which I wouldn't have so much of by myself." His reply cut Laufey off slightly but he already had known what was coming due to his father's slight overprotectiveness of him now.

A sigh met him in response and Loki knew that Laufey knew he was right. "If anything happens Loki..."

"Then I will be fully responsible for making such a mistake but I doubt anything will go wrong," he replied softly.

"If you are not back in three weeks time, I will come searching for you." His voice was stern.

"I wouldn't expect anything less."

* * *

The mirror reflected his image perfectly, letting him know that the illusion had taken its effect and was working properly. Loki curiously touched his cheek, gazing back into his now green eyes that contrasted with his pale skin and dark hair. Glancing around his room, he suddenly realized that his Jotun attire wasn't suitable for Asgard and quickly used his magic to change it; it morphed into a long black trench-coat type thing that Loki wasn't accustomed to. He guessed it was the kind of attire a prince would wear in Asgard as it was made of only the finest materials and consisted mostly of leather. It seemed as though everything was now prepared for his short trip.

He felt somewhat guilty of lying to Laufey so easily but he knew that his father would never allow him to go to Asgard even if he were surrounded by guards. The realms of Jotunheim and Asgard were no longer at the tense peace they had had for years since the Great War. It had ended when the Aesir prince, Thor, had traveled to Jotunheim with some of his friends and had started a battle for no reason other than being bored. Loki had been prepared to fight but Laufey refused to let him out of the palace. After the Aesir had left, they had apparently only been reprimanded and the prince had been banished for a short while but he had returned. There had even been occasional battles since then but everything had calmed down more recently, allowing them a bit of rest. Loki doubted it would last for long as it never did but he had never been to Asgard except for a handful of times in his childhood. He wanted to experience the place before they were in a war.

Calling on his magic again, Loki located one of the doors between the realms that would open up in Asgard though he knew not exactly where it would open another burst of magic, he found himself blinking harshly against the bright sunlight that invaded his vision as he appeared in Asgard. Thankfully, as he glanced around, he realized that he was on what he guessed was the outskirts of the main village and few people were around to notice him suddenly appear. Looking around slightly, he immediately noticed that the village was just in front of him and in the distance, he could see the golden expanse of the Asgardian palace. It took him a moment to decide before he started in the general direction of the village and the palace, glancing around curiously at everything he passed.

As he made his way into the village, Loki noticed far more glances turning his way and murmurs coming from the people watching him pass. Furrowing a brow slightly in confusion, he glanced over himself to find nothing out of place. His skin was still a pale Aesir shade and his clothes were the equivalent of royal wear. That was when he noticed his mistake. The people of Asgard were sure to know who the members of the royal family were and he was obviously not one of them yet he was dressed in the royal attire. However, if he were to use his magic to change his clothes to something less conspicuous, he would still draw more unneeded attention to himself.

Loki turned down a seemingly less used path and looked around. What was he even planning on doing here? Look around for a while before traveling to Midgard? Then there was the problem of having to find somewhere to stay and having something to eat. It was far easier on Midgard where the currency was a simple form of paper he could create with magic but Asgard used a different bartering system which could be more complicated and the currency they did have was far different.

There was a loud crash behind him and Loki jumped, turning to look at the source. A man was slowly pushing himself up from the ground, having had something throw him back on the ground; a second later something silver flew through the air, carrying with it the familiar feel of magic. His eyes followed the object and found it held tightly in somebody's hand; a somebody he recognized only then to be the Aesir prince, Thor. His muscles tensed and his hands clenched into fists at his sides as he called his magic to him, keeping it close so he could defend himself quickly.

The prince wasn't paying any attention to him though as he grabbed the man by his collar. "I will not have you insulting my friends and I again. Do I make myself clear?" He growled.

The man nodded furiously, scrambling away as soon as Thor's grip loosened on him.

Loki watched curiously, his eyes following the man until he disappeared from sight before his eyes flicked over to the blonde-haired prince. Thor turned to look at him then, glancing over him and obviously taking notice of his attire. "I do not believe I've seen you before. What is your name?" Thor questioned, his voice seeming to have an edge of suspicion in it.

"Loki," he replied without thinking which caused him to snap his mouth shut afterwards. 'Loki' was not a common name and he had never met anyone that shared his but the thunderer either didn't notice or didn't care. "Uh, Brandrson," he added after a moment, the lie easily flowing off his tongue.

Thor nodded slightly. "Which realm do you hail from?"

He paused for a moment. Svartalfheim and Jotunheim were obviously out of question as both were not allies of Asgard at the time; Helheim nor Midgard were intelligent choices. Niflheim and Muspelheim both kept to themselves. Both Alfheim and Vanaheim were currently close allies of Asgard so those were the only two choices. From what he remembered, the Vanir were advanced in magic as were the Alfar of Alfheim, but it was better to choose a species more closely related to the Aesir than the elves. "I come from Vanaheim and I am part of the royal family but not in line for the throne," he answered in an even voice, adding in the last part to explain his attire before it brought about more questions. "I wanted to learn more about Asgard but I arrived only a while ago and I quickly became lost." The last bit wasn't a lie at least.

"Have you no place to stay? It seems that there would have been arrangements made for you," Thor replied.

Shaking his head slightly, Loki shrugged. "No, I didn't think much ahead in that aspect of things," he said with a slight edge of amusement in his voice.

"Well we always are to have open rooms in the palace for visiting allies. Come on, it's this way," he said, walking past Loki and out onto the main path again.

Loki furrowed a brow in confusion, catching up to him. "Were you not with friends though?" He questioned, glancing around a bit.

Thor shrugged. "They do not need me as they know where everything is."

Loki raised a brow, wondering if Thor meant for him to infer that he needed his help but he shrugged it off. Instead, he turned his attention to their surroundings; his gaze rose to the palace as they slowly neared it and he found his steps faltering. He was the Jotun prince going into the very center of their enemy's territory and would almost undoubtedly be killed if he was found. That was what he had wanted though, wasn't it? To learn about Asgard and the Aesir from the inside and this had to be the best way of doing so.

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**I'm likely to continue this whether there is a lot of interest or not but I still love my reviewers, followers, and favoriters. (New made-up word~)**

**Feel free to ask any question or make suggestions. I love comments and critique so...Yeah. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Here is chapter two for my lovelies~ Anyway, I uh...There's not much to say right now I guess. **

**Just restating that I'll be updating weekly (one Fridays and/or Saturdays) and maybe randomly whenever I feel like it through-out the week though this is less likely to happen.**

**Oh, I did post this on Archive of Our Own if anybody would like to follow over there. From the Inside by LokiKitteh.**

**I think that is all. Thank you so much to my reviewers, followers, and favourite...ers. XD**

**I don't own any of the characters in this~**

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"It's quite grand, isn't it?"

Loki glanced up to see Thor watching him curiously. "Oh, yes," he chuckled, looking back up to the golden palace that they were slowly nearing.

"It's beautiful on the inside as well," Thor mumbled in reply.

"You live there then, I guess?"

Thor nodded. "Of course, I am Thor Odinson, prince of Asgard," he said with a charming grin.

Loki bit back the urge to roll his eyes but nodded in response. "I presumed as much."

"Thor!"

They both stopped and turned to find four people walking towards them; one of the men seemed to have been the one to call out Thor's name. Loki noticed that two of the men were shorter, one having dark hair and the other having blonde. Another was of average height with dark hair and a beard but was also rather large in size. The fourth was a woman with dark hair.

"Sorry my friends, I got distracted," Thor said before gesturing to Loki. "This is Loki, of Vanaheim. Loki, this is Hogun, Fandral, Volstagg, and Sif," he continued, gesturing to each of them in turn.

Loki nodded. His gaze flicked over each of them for a moment before it turned to Sif as he glanced over her; she was the only female Aesir warrior he had encountered and the only one he had actually heard of.

"If you're thinking of making a move on me or insulting me in some way because I am female, I would advise against it," Sif said in a low tone.

Chuckling lightly, Loki shook his head. "I wasn't planning on either actually. I simply found it interesting to meet you after hearing tales of the Warriors Three, Sif, and Thor." He knew from experience it was far better to try and charm them then it was to insult them as he stood no chance against the five of them if they were to become offended.

Sif raised a brow as though she were about to reply but Fandral was the first to speak. "That's disappointing. I was looking forward to you saying something about women being a weaker species and watching Sif inform you otherwise," he said with a slight teasing edge in his voice.

Loki rolled his eyes then. "I think far too many people underestimate the 'weaker species'," he replied.

"Like what?" Volstagg questioned in something similar to a disbelieving tone.

"Well, other than just women, many underestimate the Jotun runts. However, they are actually as, if not more, powerful than the others of average height due to the runts only being kept if they show magical abilities," he explained.

There was a moment of silence before the five Aesir burst into laughter at his statement. Loki tensed, knowing only then that he had said the wrong thing. After them taking a long moment to regain their composure, Volstagg said, "The Jotun runts? Being powerful? Even the largest Frost Giants aren't powerful!"

He felt anger flash through him and felt a cold wave of air slowly starting to seep up his fingers causing him to discreetly glance down to find that his fingers were turning blue. Inhaling slowly, he pushed the magic back into place before narrowing his eyes on Volstagg. "Yes, they are. In fact, their prince is one of the most powerful sorcerers in the realms," he said evenly. It wasn't that he simply wanted to compliment himself but rather a statement of fact.

Thor opened his mouth to say something in return but Hogun cut him off. "That is actually true."

"Are you siding with the Frost Giants now, Hogun?" Fandral teased.

Hogun sighed. "It is a statement of fact," he said shortly.

"And how do you know so much of the Frost Giants?" Thor questioned, looking back to Loki.

"Well not necessarily about the Jotnar but about other sorcerers," Loki replied.

"So you're a sorcerer then?"

Loki nodded. "A sorcerer and a scholar," he replied, causing for a ball of green flames to appear in his open palm. It roared to life for a moment before it died down to a small flame. He watched as their gazes fell to it, allowing it to 'burn' for a moment longer before waving his fingers slightly and causing it to disappear before looking up to them again.

"Magic is for women," Volstagg said.

"And fighting is usually for men, Volstagg, yet Sif is one of our strongest warriors. I bet Loki is one of Vanaheim's strongest sorcerers," Thor cut in.

"Well, are you?" Sif asked, looking to Loki.

Loki nodded shortly. "Yes I am."

They fell silent for a moment, seeming to take it in before Fandral continued on a different subject. "Where were you going now, Thor?"

"Loki does not have a place to stay during his visit and I was going to show him around the palace and see if I could acquire accommodations for him. He'll be staying for three weeks."

"Why are you visiting Asgard at all?" Volstagg questioned.

"Honestly, I was just becoming rather tired and stressed. I needed a moment to breathe and get away. If I had stayed much longer working under all of the pressure I was under, I'd have crashed after too much more," he replied.

"Back to the former subject," Fandral mumbled. "I unfortunately have some things I must take care of but I do wish to see you around again before you must leave, Loki," he said before turning and walking down the path they had come.

Loki raised a brow but said nothing in response to him as the blonde walked away.

"Don't mind him. Fandral apparently has a thing for dark-haired beings of either gender," Sif said evenly, rolling her eyes. "He's been after me for a while even though he goes after just about everyone else as well, including Hogun."

Chuckling slightly, Loki nodded. "Point taken."

Hogun sighed. "We actually should go with him as well though," he said shortly, looking over to Volstagg, before waving a silent farewell and leaving. Volstagg nodded, waving as well before he followed Hogun off after Fandral.

"And have you anything to attend to Lady Sif, or will you be coming with us?" Thor asked.

"I actually do have some things I must attend to; I have to retrieved my sword," she replied.

Thor nodded, glancing at Loki before continuing forward onto the palace. Loki fell into place silently beside him, still glancing around curiously at everything he passed. Asgard was far warmer than Jotunheim and it was slightly uncomfortable to him really though he was sure he would be able to become a bit more accustomed to it.

"Have you ever been to Asgard before Loki?" Thor asked.

Loki shook his head slightly. "No, I've never been here myself but I've read a lot about this realm and heard tales from others about it," he said.

"Well there really is nothing like experiencing it in person. Do you have anything planned for your time here?"

Chuckling somewhat sheepishly, Loki shook his head slightly again. "No I don't actually. I left rather quickly and didn't really have time to plan anything. I was originally going to be going to Midgard actually but changed my mind at the last moment." The lie once again slipped off his tongue easily as he had never actually planned to go to Midgard. Though the Midgardians were supposedly advanced in technology now, they knew nothing of magic and nothing of the other realms.

Thor smiled and nodded a bit. "I'm not too fond of Midgard myself. I spent a short amount of time there and though a few of them are hospitable, a large amount of them can be less welcoming or open-minded."

"I think I'll enjoy Asgard more as well as it already seems to be more welcoming than other realms," Loki mumbled in reply. His gaze slowly rose as they entered the palace grounds, passing through a large golden arch. The grounds were decorated with beautiful plants and other fascinating decorations of stone and metal. He noticed that gold was the most prominent mineral that was used in any of the architecture. His attention turned from the decorations to the guards that stood on either side of the palace entrance and he eyed them somewhat warily as they passed. It wasn't long before his gaze focused on the decorations and tapestries adorning the golden walls.

"I know that we have some open rooms as to where you can stay during your time here, Loki," Thor said. "Many of the beings that visit from other realms stay in the palace so we often have rooms furnished and ready for them."

Nodding in agreement, Loki turned and followed Thor down the corridor on the right, seeing that the walls there were covered in other tapestries or intricate designs engraved in the metal. The majority of them depicted scenes from the Great War or other battles Asgard had participated in. He noticed as they walked further down the hall that a few of them depicted Thor and his friends in battle. Thor turned left on another hallway that ended abruptly in a large staircase before nodding back the opposite way which led down the right corridor.

"It is easiest to go to the kitchen and Grand Hall going down that corridor as it is a rather straight path compared to others," Thor informed him.

Loki nodded again, glancing back the way they had came before ascending the stairs to the third floor after Thor. "Okay, I think I can remember as much. Do we have much further to go until we reach my room?" He questioned, looking up to Thor as he stepped off the staircase into another hall.

The thunder god shook his head and turned to walk again. "It's just here on the left," he replied, gesturing towards the second door on the left.

Loki chuckled lightly, walking forward and opening the door so he could glance around the large room. He took a few steps inside and surveyed the furnishings; a large bed blanketed in thick beige covers was pushed against one wall while another had a desk and dresser on them, both of which were made of dark wood. Beside the bed was a door that Loki guessed led to the washroom and the wall perpendicular to it had a large window that looked out over the realm.

"Is it to your liking?" Thor asked.

Loki smiled and nodded. "Very much so," he said in return.

Thor nodded. "Good. Now, would you like for me to show you around the rest of the palace so you can at least become acquainted with the layout?"

He paused for a moment before nodding. "That would be nice, yes."

Thor stepped slightly to the side to allow Loki past him, closing the door behind himself. "I think it'd be best to start with the first floor and move up. Most of the floors are open to visitors and the ones that aren't are obviously marked as such so you need not worry about that."

"Sounds like a plan," Loki mumbled in reply.

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**So, this is chapter two and we'll have some fun stuff next chapter~**

**Anyways, until then, review, comment, follow, favourite, blah, blah, and blah! :D**


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